Husker_x
New member
I was able to attend this game, the first time I've been in Memorial Stadium for a long time. It was a fun game to watch, and there was plenty of excitment. My particular portion of the stadium was pretty quiet (except for me and a few other guys), but it was a blast anyway.
Now, on to the meat:
1) Offense. Once again we've got another solid game from Keller. This man is just a solid, solid football player. They made a mistake having him throw two deep balls in the first quarter––the second was intercepted––but otherwise you can't ask for much more than what he's been giving us. Yes, the wideouts dropped a couple, but watching from the stands it wasn't as bad as I've heard some make it out. Hardy had a pretty poor catch that should have been a monster gain, and there were a few tough ones that Keller threw behind the receivers, low balls, etc. The Lucky fumble was just a freak thing that happened. He was trying to stretch out to get the TD but he was falling forward on another guy so his knee never hit the turf. For a second there I thought he had broke the plain but he was an inch or two shy. Otherwise good pass blocking, ho-hum run blocking, and the run game in general could use improvement. I'm not a big Lucky fan at all. On Castille's one carry on 3rd and one they opted to do some new-fangled toss play instead of just letting him get the first down. Q has the power to bully someone for a yard, Lucky doesn't. End of story.
2) Defense. To be honest I'm not even sure what to say. At times it was inspired defense. Lots of TFLs, sacks, and hurries against an O-line which had previously only given up 3 sacks in four games (one of which against Iowa who has a pretty good front four led by Mitch King). The slant pass is a hard to defend, sink or swim kind of play. They threw it a lot, and completed many. However it also cost them 2 interceptions, I believe. At the end of the day I don't care how many yards a D gives up as long as there are only 17 points to show for a 105 snaps. Were it not for some avoidable turnovers in the first quarter, this game could have gotten more ugly than it did.
3) Special teams. This portion of our game is just shining so far this season. Grixby has turned into a great little returner, and a couple times he was a unicorn fart away from going to the house. Adi had a kickoff go through the uprights AGAINST THE WIND. It came towards my endzone, and wow, you should have heard the cheers. Coverages were for the most part spectacular. ISU had medium to lousy field position for most of the game.
4) Grixby. If you had told me #2 was going to be playing like this last year, I would have laughed until blood collected in my lungs from the effort. 2 picks, several nice returns, intense play––he's come into his own. I think we're seeing why he was recruited in the first place. When given a little help from the rest of the secondary, he is a capable playmaker despite his size. He's fast, he's physical, he's got better vision this season. I expect more good things to come.
Looking back: I was pleased with the effort this game. Our defense was on the field too much, and that counts for most of the statistical negatives. The 97 yard drive happened in the fourth quarter, which accounts for about a fourth of ISU's yards. They were tired, and nearly had the drive stopped a couple times. There was a lot more intensity on the field; the crowd was in it; we won the game.
Looking ahead: I'm really not that concerned about Mizzery. They've played no one. Bottom-feeding Big 10 teams and one ho-hum SEC squad doesn't make me tremble in my boots about that offense. We put up 31 on USC. I think our offense has just as much pop as theirs. And their defense has given up quite a bit, too. Bottom line is if we keep improving this week, keep the fire, show up at Columbia with a no-nonsense kind of attitude, we'll be okay. Mizzery is already talking trash. That's fine. They're Mizzery. At least we all know that even if they win next week, just as Fall turneth into Winter, so shalt the Tigers piss away the North to 4-5 Colorado or something. (By the way, nice one Buffies––all the better to watch you do nothing with it the rest of the season).
The Blackshirts aren't back quite yet, but they're stumbling awfully close to the light switch. They need a big game next week. We've got a chance to knock off a higher-rated team in their own house. Le'ts get it done.
Go Big Red.
X
Now, on to the meat:
1) Offense. Once again we've got another solid game from Keller. This man is just a solid, solid football player. They made a mistake having him throw two deep balls in the first quarter––the second was intercepted––but otherwise you can't ask for much more than what he's been giving us. Yes, the wideouts dropped a couple, but watching from the stands it wasn't as bad as I've heard some make it out. Hardy had a pretty poor catch that should have been a monster gain, and there were a few tough ones that Keller threw behind the receivers, low balls, etc. The Lucky fumble was just a freak thing that happened. He was trying to stretch out to get the TD but he was falling forward on another guy so his knee never hit the turf. For a second there I thought he had broke the plain but he was an inch or two shy. Otherwise good pass blocking, ho-hum run blocking, and the run game in general could use improvement. I'm not a big Lucky fan at all. On Castille's one carry on 3rd and one they opted to do some new-fangled toss play instead of just letting him get the first down. Q has the power to bully someone for a yard, Lucky doesn't. End of story.
2) Defense. To be honest I'm not even sure what to say. At times it was inspired defense. Lots of TFLs, sacks, and hurries against an O-line which had previously only given up 3 sacks in four games (one of which against Iowa who has a pretty good front four led by Mitch King). The slant pass is a hard to defend, sink or swim kind of play. They threw it a lot, and completed many. However it also cost them 2 interceptions, I believe. At the end of the day I don't care how many yards a D gives up as long as there are only 17 points to show for a 105 snaps. Were it not for some avoidable turnovers in the first quarter, this game could have gotten more ugly than it did.
3) Special teams. This portion of our game is just shining so far this season. Grixby has turned into a great little returner, and a couple times he was a unicorn fart away from going to the house. Adi had a kickoff go through the uprights AGAINST THE WIND. It came towards my endzone, and wow, you should have heard the cheers. Coverages were for the most part spectacular. ISU had medium to lousy field position for most of the game.
4) Grixby. If you had told me #2 was going to be playing like this last year, I would have laughed until blood collected in my lungs from the effort. 2 picks, several nice returns, intense play––he's come into his own. I think we're seeing why he was recruited in the first place. When given a little help from the rest of the secondary, he is a capable playmaker despite his size. He's fast, he's physical, he's got better vision this season. I expect more good things to come.
Looking back: I was pleased with the effort this game. Our defense was on the field too much, and that counts for most of the statistical negatives. The 97 yard drive happened in the fourth quarter, which accounts for about a fourth of ISU's yards. They were tired, and nearly had the drive stopped a couple times. There was a lot more intensity on the field; the crowd was in it; we won the game.
Looking ahead: I'm really not that concerned about Mizzery. They've played no one. Bottom-feeding Big 10 teams and one ho-hum SEC squad doesn't make me tremble in my boots about that offense. We put up 31 on USC. I think our offense has just as much pop as theirs. And their defense has given up quite a bit, too. Bottom line is if we keep improving this week, keep the fire, show up at Columbia with a no-nonsense kind of attitude, we'll be okay. Mizzery is already talking trash. That's fine. They're Mizzery. At least we all know that even if they win next week, just as Fall turneth into Winter, so shalt the Tigers piss away the North to 4-5 Colorado or something. (By the way, nice one Buffies––all the better to watch you do nothing with it the rest of the season).
The Blackshirts aren't back quite yet, but they're stumbling awfully close to the light switch. They need a big game next week. We've got a chance to knock off a higher-rated team in their own house. Le'ts get it done.
Go Big Red.
X
